September 15, 2018 10:41am EDTSeptember 15, 2018 10:41am EDTJosh Warrington will make his first IBF World Featherweight title defense against Carl "The Jackal" Frampton on Dec. 22 at the Manchester Arena in England.Josh Warrington(Getty Images)

Josh Warrington will make his first IBF world featherweight title defense against Carl "The Jackal" Frampton on Dec. 22 at the Manchester Arena in England.

Warrington (27-0), from Leeds, Yorkshire, became the city’s first-ever world champion when he defied the odds with a split decision victory over Lee Selby for the title in May this year. The bout is still subject to IBF sanctioning but will be a huge domestic clash this year when the undefeated 27-year-old will face off against Northern Ireland's current interim WBO World Featherweight champion, Carl 'The Jackal' Frampton (26-1).

“The Frampton fight really appeals to me and it will be another big scalp for me," the IBF featherweight champion said in a press release. “I went over to Windsor Park to watch Carl fight a few weeks ago, I wouldn’t have gone over there if I wasn’t interested in the fight. There was easier routes I could have taken like having a voluntary.

"Frampton and Selby in the same year would be a massive achievement. It's about keeping the momentum going and I just believe I can beat Carl. I am just as confident in beating Carl as I was beating Lee [Selby]. These are fights that the British public want to see, I’m a world champion and when you are world champion you want to fight the best and Carl is a name who is up there.”

With Manchester Arena confirmed as the venue, it will be neutral territory when both sets of boxing fans make the trip to Manchester on Dec. 22. Both fighters have recently proved they are two of the best supported boxers in Britain. Over 20,000 Warrington fans filled up Leeds United Football Club’s stadium Elland Road in May while Frampton sold out Northern Ireland’s national stadium, Windsor Park, in August when he faced Australian Luke Jackson.

“Me and Warrington have big fan bases that make a lot of noise, so I think first and foremost the atmosphere is going to be fantastic and possibly a bit hostile as well," Frampton said in the press release.

"The Jackal" will be looking to become the world champion again when he faces Warrington. The Belfast man has been without a world title since his majority decision defeat to Leo Santa Cruz in Las Vegas in January 2017.

If victorious, Frampton would become a two-weight, four-time world champion in what has already been a very successful boxing career.

“I’ve done a lot more in my career than I thought I would have when I turned professional," he said. "I’m very proud of my career but I believe I still have more to give and want to keep going as long as I can. I will add my fourth world title and go on and unify again. You’re going to see two hungry guys in their prime, Warrington has just won this world title and isn’t going to give it up easily. I know what it’s like to be a world champion and I want that feeling back again, I think there is going to be fireworks in this fight.”